The 2017 edition of the Royal Rumble has come and gone and it has left a lot of fans feeling conflicted. The Royal Rumble Match is known for its surprise entrants and surprise returns, but the fans got none of them in this match.
All the rumours claiming Triple H, Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, and other legends would appear in this match were proven false and some of the entrants that actually occurred in the Royal Rumble were very disappointing.
The only entrant that the fans wanted to see in the match that actually occurred was Tye Dillinger coming out at #10. Other than Dillinger, the Rumble match resulted in a lot of disappointment from its entrants to its winner.
Many fans were speculating who would win the match and it ultimately resulted in yet another future Hall of Famer winning the match for the second time in Randy Orton. Orton winning the match would’ve been fine if the fans got the legends they wanted in the match, but the fact that none of their surprises came true made this an event that fans just can’t give a pass to.
With that in mind, this article will look at five Royal Rumble Entrants who fans didn’t need in the Royal Rumble Match and people the WWE could’ve replaced them with.
#5 Mojo Rawley
It goes without saying that Mojo Rawley isn’t exactly the best wrestler on the roster. In fact, many people were angry when they learnt that he was drafted to the main roster instead of some of the other wrestlers in NXT last year.
His presence on the main roster is not one that people care for and his appearance in the Royal Rumble was even more uninspired.
Rawley came out at entry #4 and barely lasted more than six minutes before he was eliminated by Braun Strowman. No one recalls a single thing he did in the match and people probably barely remember he was in the match.
James Ellsworth was considered for a position on this list, but his appearance was quick and it led to some comedy, Rawley’s appearance led to nothing but monotony and boredom.
Replacement: Sycho Sid
Shawn Michaels has made it very clear that he has no intentions of ever coming out of retirement to wrestle a match of any kind. His presence in the Royal Rumble Match would’ve made for a great surprise entrant, but that was not a real possibility.
So since they couldn’t get the man who won the championship in the Alamodome, they could’ve at least gotten the man who defended it.
Seeing Sycho Sid in a WWE ring and reminding fans of the 1997 Rumble Match would’ve been fine. Plus, Braun Strowman was only two entries away and an exchange between those two men would’ve made for great television.
#4 Rusev
Rusev is an entertaining wrestler who deserves a lot more attention and credit for his efforts. He was a great US Champion back in 2014 to 2015 and he has been the source of some great comedic moments over the years.
If he wasn’t injured, no one would have a problem with The Bulgarian Brute being in the match. With that said, Rusev was injured and didn’t need to be in the match at all if he wasn’t going to do anything of note.
Rusev was the 18th entrant in the Royal Rumble Match and came down to the ring with a protective mask for his nose. This seemed like an unnecessary entrant almost immediately when his injury was revealed and many fans questioned why he was even there.
Ultimately, he could’ve missed this match because appearing in it while injured didn’t make much sense.
Replacement: Rhyno
Rusev didn’t need to be in the match while injured and if they wanted to have some type of monster or strong man enter the match, then Rhyno would’ve been the wrestler to put in Rusev’s spot.
Plenty of people in the Alamodome would’ve been fine with seeing a few Gores before Rhyno was eliminated by Goldberg or someone. In fact, a confrontation between Goldberg and Rhyno would’ve made for an interesting encounter and would’ve made fans ponder who had the better Spear.
#3 Apollo Crews
Apollo Crews is a fantastic athlete but is also one of the blandest wrestlers employed by the WWE. He has no character, isn’t very charismatic, and his mic skills are average at best. Everything about Crews screams generic and it’s one of the many reasons fans weren’t looking forward to Crews entering the Rumble match because they knew he wouldn’t have much to offer.
Crews came out as entrant #22, got no eliminations, lasted about 5 minutes, and was eliminated by Luke Harper in a rather lacklustre way. His presence in the match was unnecessary and he didn’t make the most out of his Royal Rumble appearance like others did. Truly a wasted spot.
Replacement: Triple H
Fans were hoping that Triple H would enter the Royal Rumble match so they could see Seth Rollins defying Stephanie McMahon’s edict banning him from the building. This would’ve led to Rollins attacking Triple H while he was in the match, eliminating him, and probably hitting him with a pedigree for good measure.
The number 22 spot would’ve been perfect for this and it could’ve made this match great. The WWE probably avoided this because the fans predicted it, but sometimes the predictable outcome is the right one and this was the perfect chance to further the Rollins-Triple H storyline.
#2 Enzo Amore
Enzo Amore is a great speaker and a charismatic individual. His wrestling is okay, but the money with Amore is his mic skills. However, Amore was not needed in this Royal Rumble Match. When Enzo came out as the #27 entrant, many fans saw this as a bad sign that the WWE would not include any surprise entrants in the match other than NXT Superstar Tye Dillinger.
Amore made his way to the ring, got hyped up, and was swiftly eliminated by Brock Lesnar. Amore entering the match was unneeded and he really served no purpose other than to pad Lesnar’s elimination list.
Replacement: Kurt Angle
It would’ve been the perfect scenario with Lesnar standing tall in the ring for Kurt Angle to enter the Royal Rumble match. Imagine the pop that The Olympic Gold Medalist would’ve received if he confronted Lesnar in the match and reminded the fans of their legendary feud from 2003.
The 27th spot was the perfect number for Angle to enter the Royal Rumble match and would’ve made for a fantastic moment. It’s a shame that the WWE didn’t even consider this as a possibility when it was a perfect visual and a perfect encounter practically staring them in the face.
#1 Roman Reigns
Realistically, there wasn’t much of a problem with Roman Reigns being in the Rumble match. In previous years, wrestlers who have fought for World Championships have entered the Rumble match later like Dolph Ziggler and Big Show in 2012.
If the problem was just the fact that he had a brutal Championship match and entered the Rumble anyway, Kevin Owens did the exact same thing last year after his Last Man Standing Match with Dean Ambrose earlier in the night; so that wouldn’t have been as big of a deal. Both those points aside, Reigns did not need to be entrant #30.
Fans wanted surprise entrants and other wrestlers who didn’t already have matches to be showcased in the Royal Rumble. Assuming that Shinsuke Nakamura and Finn Bálor were cleared for the match, there was nothing stopping the WWE from having other entrants take Reigns’ spot.
The fans already hate Reigns because of his booking and now that hate has been intensified. If he turns heel, then it was a good decision that the WWE can capitalise on. But if doesn’t, then the WWE might have killed Roman Reigns’ career and ruined any chance he had of getting over.
Replacement: Finn Bálor
Initially, this last spot was held for Samoa Joe. However, after seeing Joe’s debut on Monday Night Raw, it was abundantly clear that Joe waiting until Raw was the better decision. However, assuming that Bálor was medically cleared to wrestle, he would’ve benefitted much more in this situation; even more so if he won the match.
Bálor has defeated Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Kevin Owens all within the span of a month and could easily be placed right back into contention for a title match. However, a return and Royal Rumble debut would’ve been great for his career and for the fans.
Having Bálor stare down The Undertaker in the Royal Rumble Match would’ve been a moment to replay in videos forever. Plus, if a match were to be made out of it, then Bálor eliminating The Undertaker could’ve been the beginning of a great feud.
Fans would probably still have been disappointed if Orton won the match by eliminating Bálor like he did Reigns, but they could’ve pulled a 1992 and had The Undertaker eliminate Bálor or help to eliminate him.
There could’ve been a lot of possibilities with Bálor coming out to #30 and the only excuse for him not being in the match was if he wasn’t medically cleared. Aside from that, this should’ve been an easy choice for the WWE.
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